Get ready for a transformation

Infinite love. That’s what I see when I look at Sydney Mardi Gras’ new logo of two hearts intertwined.

Yes, I said ‘Sydney Mardi Gras’ — the brand new shiny name of our beloved festival, making sure political correctness and acceptance for everyone (and I do mean everyone) are at the forefront of next year’s Mardi Gras, and for the years to come.

So what does this all mean? Name changes, new logos, and party details revealed before March 2. Has Mardi Gras flipped as we know it? Will the glitter never fall the same again?

My answer is ‘Yes, but for the better’.

Two years ago I hated Mardi Gras. I believed it was over-commercialised and full of sleaze. I knew the LGBTI community was much more than that, and I wanted Mardi Gras to reflect that.

Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one.

When I joined Sydney Mardi Gras’ communications team and was shown the ‘Say Something’ concept, I knew change was on its way.

We wanted to get back to the community, we wanted to give everyone a voice and a platform to speak their minds, and I believe we managed that.

The symbol of infinite love, like a butterfly, represents metamorphosis, a transformation.

And if the evolution from the old Mardi Gras to New Mardi Gras was like a phoenix rising from the ashes, then the change of New Mardi Gras to Sydney Mardi Gras is a beautiful butterfly awakening from its cocoon, and finally spreading its wings once more.

I expect next year’s Mardi Gras to be the biggest yet. Mardi Gras hasn’t even reached its full potential yet, but we are getting there.

If you believe in love for everyone and sex with whomever you please, and if you believe in fun and happiness, in celebrating who we are and fighting for what is right and being who you want to do be, Sydney Mardi Gras 2012 is for you.